Lakers barred from wearing their preferred black uniforms in Las Vegas, per report

L.A. is 4-0 when wearing its 'city edition' jerseys this year

If the Los Angeles Lakers had it their way, they would be wearing their black "city edition" uniforms for their In-Season Tournament semifinal matchup vs. the New Orleans Pelicans on Thursday. 

But the league has shut that down, according to ESPN's Dave McMenamin, who cites "concerns over the visual contrast between the jerseys and the design of the specialized in-season court the semifinals will be played on at T-Mobile Arena."

From ESPN:

The Lakers are slated to wear their gold "icon" jerseys, according to their uniform schedule on the team website, which lists the colorway planned for every game for L.A. through the end of the regular season. The Pelicans will be in their white "association" uniforms.

When one Lakers player was informed the team wouldn't be allowed to wear black on Thursday, he replied, "That's ass."

The Lakers might just prefer the aesthetics of the black jersey (they are pretty clean), or they might have a touch of superstition. They are 4-0 in their city editions this season -- all IST games -- with the latest being their 106-103 win over Phoenix in the quarterfinals on Tuesday. 

If you wanted to stretch the superstitious vibes, as McMenamin notes, LeBron James won the 2016 title while wearing Cleveland's black uniforms in Game 7, and the Lakers went 4-1 in the 2020 NBA bubble while wearing their "Black Mamba" uniforms to honor Kobe Bryant. 

My guess is the Lakers just like the look of the black uniforms, but the golds, which are also one of the league's most classic fits, are a fine consolation.